ARMY LANGUAGE SCHOOL 

Presidio of Monterey , California 



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HISTORY of JAPAN 


November 19 50 





















































AM DOTAGE SCHOOL 
FAR EASTERN DIVISION 
JAPANESE LANGUAGE DEPARTMENT 
Presidio of'Monterey s Califjomia^ 1 


HISTCM OF JAPAN 


By 

Shigeya Kihara 
Instructor 


Revised, October 1950 





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m^ODUCTION 

Japan is old as nations go. Ten years ago* she celebrated her 
2600th anniversary* In her relatively long history* several facts 
stand out and a multitude of traditions have accumulated. The first 
is that a single ruling dynasty has occupied the Japanese throne ever 

since prehistoric days. Secondly* until her defeat in World War II* 

* 

she had never been conquered in war. The Japanese had believed 
their Imperial House and race to be of divine or gin and endowed 
with a holy mission of bringing peace and order to the world. The 
beliefs* psychology* and social life of the nation were built up 
around the Imperial Way. 

For the most part* we shall consider Japanese history as the 
Japanese interpret it* because their outlook on life is based on 
their beliefs and interpretation of the facts. Our 1 views of the 
same facts would lead to different conclusions in many cases. 


' 1 



CHARACTERISTICS OF JAPANESE) HISTORY AND CIVILIZATION 


1® Assimilative Japanese culture exhibits several character- 
isticSo The first is that it is composed of elements 
aggressively assimilated from foreign importations© Ideas 9 arts and 
tools which the Japanese thought would benefit them were absorbed and 
blended into their own life e but the Japanese never completely lost 
their individuality® Democratic Chinese ideas of Confucianism were 
molded into the intensely nationalistic Japanese Imperial system® 
Japanese writing^ the larger part of Japanese vocabulary and other 
elements of the language are importations from the Chinese® In 186S„ 
Japan adopted a constitutional system, but the traditional powers and 
position of the Emperor were not changed qzb iota® 

2© ^u&lity A duality can be detected in many aspects of her cul¬ 
ture® The Japanese are conservative, and at the same time they are 
progressive® At the same time that she fought the Western nations with 
scientific weapons, she believed in a religion whose gods* ancestors 
of the race, were to guide the winds and waves to bring victory to 
them® At the same time a universal and humanitarian religion 
“ philosophical Buddhism “bgtebeaath^jDQst widespread religion; tteir 
state cult , Shinto, was a simple, pantheistic belief which did not 
change for 2000 years* 

At the same time that their educational system is one of the most 
highly developed and literacy is claimed for &ver 95 per cent 


2 





of the population, the Japanese believed the place for the woman to be in 
the home* and as a consequence women with higher education are very 
few* 


In Japan it is possible to see the strange sight of men in 
Japanese ceremonial dress* topped by a derby hat® 

3» Theocratic The Japanese have always associated government 
with religion® Their eiperors were believed to be divine descendants 
of the gods, and their wills were considered to be the will of heaven. 

Of course, during many periods of Japanese history, the Emperor was 
nothing more than a political pawn in struggles for power© He was often 
murdered, exiled, and disrespected© However, inconsistent as it nay 
sound, he was always the symbol of Japan© No person not of inperial 
blood ever declared himself Enperor of Japan or did away with the 
Imperial system© 

4. Simplicity Sinplicity and frugality are evident in the 
architecture, poetry, clothing, and food of the Japanese© Japanese 
homes consist of simple lines and are constructed with an eeonony of mat¬ 
erials and are not painted© Their poetry consists of seventeen or 
thirty-one syllables© The basic pattern of their clothing remains 
the same, season in and season out, and year after year® Their food 
is extremely simple and sub-standard conpared to that of the United 
States. Herein lies one of their great strengths; they are accustomed 
to going a long ways on practically nothing© They are a practical 


3 




and sinple people 9 happy with what they have and making the best 
use of it© Therefore their philosophy and science has not been 
developed to any extent worth mentioning* 

GEOGRAPHT . 

Geography most be mentioned in any discussion of history, for 
it is the stage upon which the life of any nation is enacted, and 
foreign relations depend upon it* Certain facts must be kept in 
mind when studying Japanese history* Japan proper is smaller than 
the state of California, and upon that tiny area a teeming popula¬ 
tion of one hundred million is crowded upon every square inch of 
ground* Japan lies close off the Asiatic continent and has a long 
exposed coastline* In the past she was isolated and at the same 
time close enough to China and Korea to have beneficial cultural 
contacts* 

Japan is mountainous and many of her ranges are volcanic* 
Consequently, she has few plains where agriculture and industry 
could develop on a large scale* Chly sixteen per cent of her en¬ 
tire land is arable* Over one-half of the population lives a paver— 

ty-stricken life off the land* The mountainous nature of the land 

/ 

also prevents, domestication of animals on a large scale. As for 
the basic minerals considered necessary for the industry of a first- 
rate nation, iron, coal, and oil, the;/ are woefully lacking. 


4 



The land is beautiful*. The seasons are marked by distinct and 
breath-taking changes* Therefore, the people are very close to na¬ 
ture* This may be one explanation why primitive Shinto has 
remained unchanged as the firmest belief of the people for centuries* 

RACE 


As much as the Japanesevould like to believe, they are not a 
heaven-descended people* They are a heterogenous mixture of Ainu 
aboriginies, Mongols from the mainland, and Malayan peoples from the 
south* But for all practical purposes, they have been isolated for 
so long and have so assimilated among themselves their various compo¬ 
nents that it is enough to say that th<$r are a distinct race, the 
Japanese, or as they put it — the Yamato rainzoku. 

A more detailed discussion of their habits and psychology has 
been taken up by another lecturer in a separate discussion. 

PERIODS OF JAPANESE HISTORY 

In considering Japanese history, it is convenient to have refer¬ 
ence points* It is possible to divide Japanese history into the fol¬ 
lowing periods* 

1* The ancient period 660 B*C* - 65O A*D* 

2* The periods of Inperial Rule 
a. %ra period 650 - 79^ 
b* Eeian period 79^ 1192 


5 



3« The feudal ages 

a© Krmakura bakufu 1192 - 1337 
b© Muromachi bakufu 1337 “ 157^ 
e 0 Azuchi-Momoyama period 1574 - 1605 
do Edo bakufu 1605 - 1868 
4® Recent times 1868=1945 

THE ANCIENT PERIOD 660 B 0 C ft - 645 A o Po 

1® The genesis of the nation as explained by Shinto mythology© 

2© Establishment of the seat of government in Yamato© The push¬ 
ing northward of the Ainu and the subjugation of hostile tribes in 
the south© 

3® Agricultural economy 0 

4® Family, the unit in a clan system© 

5® Introduction of Chinese cultural elements 0 

According to Shinto beliefs, the gods in heaven ordered a male 
god and a female god (Xzanami no mikoto and Xzanagi no mikoto) to 
create Japan© The pair stood on the high bridge of heaven, plunged 
a spear into the ocean, lifted it up, and the drops which fell off 
the spear coagulated and formed the Japanese archipelago 0 

Amaterasu Omikami, a female descendant of the first pair, be¬ 
queathed the rulership of Japan to her grandson, Ninigi no mikoto© 
w Go/ she told him, w and may that fair land, like heaven and earth* 


6 




endure forever.” Ninigi no mikoto set out with other gods to Japan. 

His descendants have been the rulers of Japan ever since and the descen- 
dants of the gods who came with him are the Japanese people. 

In 660 B.G. JirnnUj grandson of Ninigi no mikoto, set out from 
Kyushu to Kashiwara in Yamato and established the Japanese Empire. 
Actually these dates are about 600 years off, but in the long run it 
makes little difference. 

By the time of the Christian era, there was stability in the 
land. The population was slowly increasing. The unit of society was 
the family. Grouped as clans in an agricultural economy, they were 
governed mainly by clan leaders. By the early two hundreds, under the 
leadership of the Amazon Empress Jingo, three expeditions were made 
to conquer China. Their first attempts at imperialism did not develop 
into anything. 

Prom around the end of the third century, continental culture 
started to come in. The Confucian classics were brought over by a 
Korean. Silk culture was started at this early date. In 552, Budd¬ 
hism was officially introduced to the Japanese court in the form of 
sacred writings and images presented Tjy a king of Korea. 

Rival advisors of the court (Soga and Mononobe) usds the question 
of the introduction of this new philosophy a political issue for many 
decades, delaying its spread from the court to the people. The 
country was sorely in need of a new faith. Indigenous Shinto, being 


7 


simple* agricultural* and theocratic* could not satisfactorily 
answer other questions of existence© And conditions in the land 
were not the best© Administration was not efficient© Contacts 
with the continents were increasing* and immigrants from Korea 
and China were coming over to introduce new arts© But they also 
brought disease* and epidemics which bewildered the Ja panese© Buddhism 
offered ritual, humanitarianism# compassion* and a rich system of 
philosophy© 

So an intrinsically optomistic and simple people eagerly 
grasped a complicated and essentially pessimistic religion© They 
expressed their belief in an outburst of building* painting* and 
carving# Needless to say* this was limited for a long time to 
a small portion of the upper class© 

An outstanding personality who did much to tablish Buddhism 
was the regent prince Shotoku© Impressed by its humanitarianism 
and the culture which came into Japan with it* he strove to spread 
it© 

But Prince Shotoku was not only a great Buddhist* he was 
one of the great political figures of early Japan© Author of the 
"Constitution of Seventeen Articles** of 604* he laid down the 
basis for a strong national government* law* and social harmony© 

He sent the first diplomat to a foreign, country — one to China 
— in 607 © Socially* he made internal improvements by building 
canals and roads© Under his patronage* science and learning were 
given tremendous impetus© 


8 


This progress by Shotoku foreshadowed the second major event in 
Japanese history after its founding, the Taika Reform* 

THE KARA PERIOD 645 - 794 

The Taika Reform marks the beginning of the Nara period 

1* A period of great changes in the political*, social, and 
cultural phases of life thanks to continental influences* 

2* Permanent capital established* 

3* Urban civilization starts* 

4* Government centralized and national laws take the place of 
clan laws* 

5» An aristocracy and bureaucracy comes into being* 

6. A national consciousness arises* 

7» The Golden Age of art* 

8* Buddhism flourishes* Has political influence, and is 
the greatest factor in learning* 

Shotoku Taishi laid the basis for the great reform* But in 
doing so, he had incurred political enemies* After the prince died, 
his enemies took vengeance by killing every member of his family and 
burning his history of Japan — the first work of that nature* 

But the extreme reactionary measures of the Sogas were their 
downfall. Bed by the founder of the Fujiwara family (Nakatomi no 
^amatari), of which family Prince Konoye is a descendant, a strong 
opposition arose. And the Soga family was conpletely wiped out* 


9 



A great political change followed* called the Taika Reform, 

The purposes were three. The first was to intrench the Imperial 
family as the absolute rulers of Japan, Sovereignty its location* 
and nature was to he put into law. Secondly* the powers of the clans 
and the evils of decentralization were to he replaced hy a central 
administrative system. And lastly* a bureaucracy was to he created 
to administer new national laws. 

Under the Chinese theory of sovereignty* virtuous sons of 
heaven ruled hy mandate of heaven. If rulers lost their virtue, they 
no longer had the right to rule, and the judge of whether a prince 
was virtuous or not was a stronger prince. But in Japan, it was 
firmly established at this time that the Enperor was Heaven himself* 

The identification of worship and govenment in the term SAISEl ITCKI 
was coined, A permanent capital was established, A department of 
Shinto was created and considered the highest administrative office 
in the new setup. 

The powa: of the clans was weakened hy the confiscation of 
weapons. Long-held lands were made public lands® and private slaves 
were considered public slaves. Local, administration, which had been 
in the hands of local families was taken away* and a system of appoint¬ 
ment of officials by the central government evolved. In other words, 
the power of the clans was broken by taking away their weapons* their 
right to private ownership of the land, and their right to administer 
their own clan domains. 


10 


A comprehensive central administrative system was set up s necessi¬ 
tating a vast bureaucracy. Eight administrative departments, with the 
department of Shinto as the highest, were created® Governors were sent 
to all provinces with administrative, judicial and tax collecting 
powers® A sort of civil service system was the basis for selecting 
officials; only, the common people were not eligible to train for 
it or take the examinations® The laws show the strong influence of 
Confuteian ideas, in that, personal crimes against one°s elders and 
superiors were punished most severely® It goes without saying that 
treason was the greatest crime® 

Taxation consisted of a land tax® Three per cent of the gross 
produce of land was collected in the form of rice 9 and was paid into 
government granaries® There was also a compulsory work system where¬ 
by every able male had to work from ten to thirty days out of the 
year on public projects like roads and canals® 

A national conscript army was also established with the pea¬ 
santry as the nucleus® 

In the field of education, schools were founded to train officials 
An imperial university at Kyoto taught the Chinese classics, writing, 
and mathematics® Students were plagued with periodic examination of 
Kanji® 


Laws and customs concerning marriage and the family show the 
influence of Chinese attitudes and the family spirit of Japanese 


11 


culture. Marriages were not personal affairs* but were arranged 
between families. The average age was fourteen years for the males and 
twelve for females. Divorce was a male privilege* though family 
approval was required. Talking too much was one ground for divorce ; 
disobedience to in-laws was another. If the wife produced no male 
child* then again she could be divorced. 

Before the Taika Reform and firm intrenchment of the Imperial 
government* there had not been a permanent capital, Shinto ideas 
of impurity forbade the living of the Imperial family in the palace 
in which an emperor had died. 

But life was becoming more intricate; a political center func¬ 
tioning as a social and economic center as well became imperative. 
Envoys and students to China came back with stories of the splender 
of her cities, A national consciousness* a desire to equal her 
neighbor* caused the creation of the first planned city in Japan, 

Nara was laid out in checkerboard fashion. It became a cultural 
center as influential families flocked there to bask'in the patron¬ 
age and glory of the new court. 

The Fuji war a family* especially, thanks to several generations 
of brilliant men* firmly intrenched themselves as the first family 
of the new aristocracy. They guaranteed their position by maneuver¬ 
ing the marriage of their daughters into the Imperial family. One 
Fujiwara became grandfather of two enperors. 


12 


But another strong influence in Nara was that of the Buddhist 
priesthood* Empress Shotoku was so devout a Buddhist that she took 
the tonsure and greatly favored Dokyo, a priest who thirsted for 
power* The situation required the sending of an imperial messenger 
to a Shinto oracle at Usa in distant Kyushu in 7^9 to ascertain whether 
it was the wish of heaven that DokyS "become ruler of Japan* Doky§ 
tried to bribe Wake no Kiyomaro, the envoy, but failed* The dictum, 
M Qxea subject, always a subject/ was dramatically asserted* 

Over in China, the Tang court was at its height* The Japanese 
copied everything and, at the same time, felt a sense of inferiority, 
for they had nothing original to be proud of* Writing had existed in 
the land since 285, but the Japanese had not made much use of it* In 
712 and in 720, the Kojiki and Nihongi were written for definite purposes* 
A historical record was desired* A fundamental text from which to 
quote authority for the rule of the inperial house was a political 
necessity* And lastly, the Japanese wanted to inpress their sub* 
jects and the Chinese of the antiquity and glory of Japanese history* 

Art, architecture, sculpture, and painting flourished as never 
before and never since in purely religious fields* 

This was directly related to the popularity of Buddhism* Under 
Inperial orders, national tenples were built throughout the land* 

One emperor„ Shomei, declared himself the servant of the three 
treasures — Buddha, the holy writings, and the priesthood* The 


13 


great image of Buddha was cast fifty three feet high in "bronze at 
Nara® Another Enperor forbade the killing of any living thing, so 
hunters and fishers had to go on relief® 

To the very practical Japanese, there was no inconsistency in 
accepting Buddhism so wholeheartedly when their political system 
was based on Shinto© They considered the Buddhist names of gods 
as different terms for the old Shinto and let it go at that© 

Agriculture was officially recognized as the foundation of the 
nation© Rice harvests were the chief object of Shinto and Buddhist 
prayer© The government, realizing its dependency on agriculture, 
granted subsidies, carried out irrigation projects, and even forced 
the use of improved tools and methods© 

There was no manufacturing worth mentioning© Copper was mined 
and used for money® Commerce was very limited, as was foreign trade® 
Chinese ships came to Kyushu and sometimes northwestwardly with lux¬ 
uries© 

With increasing trade and more foreign contacts, a capital 
situated closer to a good port became desirable® But what actually 
pronpted the change of the capital to Kyoto in 794 was the undue 
influence of the Buddhist priests at Nara© 

Wake no Kiyomaru, the faithful, and another great figure, 
Sugawara Michizane, were the designers in charge of a pretentious 


14 


capital at Kyoto, the elegance of which astonished, the first Chin¬ 
ese diplomat© accredited to it® 

This change marks the end of the Nara period and the atart of 
The Heian Jidai — the period of peace and ease® 

HBXNAN PERIOD 794 - 1192 

1® Rise and fall of Fujiwara power 

2® The strange system of cloistered rule, devised to break the 
Fuj iwara hold® 

3® The political confusion results in the collapse of the ad¬ 
ministrative system® Feudal barons rise to power, and wars break out® 

4® A sophisticated Japanese culture rises® 

5® The Buddhist philosophy of the latter days® 

The Fujiwaras managed to marry their daughters into the royal 
family, and as grandparents of enperors, they were able to exert 
great political influence® In the Heian period, they assume actual 
rule of the land as regents of very young or aged enperors® Natur¬ 
ally, the political plums of high administrative posts were kept on 
the family table® 

Sugawara Michizane checked this monopoly of power, 
but only temporarily® He was a noted scholar, and even today, is 
revered as the patron diety of scholarship® Michizane built up a 
fine record of administration, and worked up into what would correspond 


15 



to the modem premier. This xvas in the reiga of an efflp?ror (Baigo) 
who was relatively free of Fug iwara influence. But it was more than 
the Fujiwara could stand. Through a false report that Miehizane was 
attempting to maneuver the younger brother of the reigning enperor 
into power, they were able to get Miehizane exiled to Kyushu. Be died 
there, still thinking reverently of his lord. 

After Miehizane was disposed of, Fujiwara power reached its 
zenith. Over a period of eight reigns, a total of one hundred years, 
the Fujiwara ruled as regents. During the regency of Michinaga, the 
family’s fortunes reached its peak. Their residence was more beauti¬ 
ful than the Imperial palace. Tie emperor’s wives, the Fuj iwara 
d au gh ters, lived at the regent’s palace. Heir apparent® were brought 
up at the regent’a At times, the emperor himself lived at the regent’s 
palace. Private and public matters were confused. When laws inter¬ 
fered with personal canvenknces and desires for luxuries, they were 
summarily suspended. 

But there was relative peace hi the land during the early Heian. 

The urge for Chinese contact had died down. Even diplomatic relations 
had been ended because the Japanese no longer felt inferior to the 
Chinese. Perhaps it is a Japanese trait to derive everything they 
can from a new culture, then to brush it aside. 'A, limited trade in 
luxuries continued, however, Buddhist scholars also kept shuttl¬ 
ing back and forth, bringing back to Japan tbs developments of Bud¬ 
dhism in China and India. There were few problems for the aristocracy 


16 


at "beautiful Kyoto e Staxation gradually developed as the nobles 
spent their time at festivals, flower viewing, and banquets. The men 
became effeminate, plucking their eyebrows, dressing in silks, writing 
love poems, and chasing women. 

Consequently, conditions in the provinces turned for the worse. 
Appointed administrators remained in the gay capital and fawned on 
I'ujiwara favor. They bought offices and used ficticious names to hold 
several.. The expense for all this had to be borne by the peasantry* 

Many farmers could not pay the increasing burden. Nor did they care 
to perform military duty or public labor for a neglectful, oppressive 
government. So, many deserted their farms and crafts and became law¬ 
less ronin. Intercepting public and private goods on the highways 
and in the sea lanes of the Inland Sea ? they forced the peasantry to 
arm and protect themselves in the absence of adequate public protec- 
tion. The Imperial constabulary and military so disintegrated that 
there was brigandry in the capital. The court prohibited the carry¬ 
ing of arms, but, of course, it was futile. 

As the peasantry armed themselves, they naturally flocked around 
prominent families of their localities. In exchange for leadership 
and protection, land, rice, and military service were granted. In 
this way, huge manors (shoen) with economic and military power developed. 

The effeminate and powerless court could only sanction this develop¬ 
ment of estates; they recognized the jurisdiction of the local magnates. 


17 


In the far-flung provinces and especially in the wide plains 
of Kanto, powerful families emerged to challenge the power of the 
Fujiwara* For a while, the court depended on the Minamoto family, 
which traced its ancestry to an enperor (Seiwa) to quell revolts 
in the north and the south* The court °s treasury was so enptied hy 
the extravagances of the nobles* that the Minamotos even financed 
the costs of wars that lasted nine years* 

At this point, a unique political system was evolved to break 
the hold of the Fujiwaras* This was cloistered rule* Emperor 
G-osanjo broke a two century tradition by marrying a princess other 
than a Fujiwara daughter* His son, Shirakawa, retired from the 
throne early and moved to another palace free from contact with the 
Fujiwara. From this vantage point, he ruled through his son* Thus 
the titular emperor 11 s position was no different, 0 he remained a figure¬ 
head as before* But the grip of the Fujiwara was broken® The only 
trouble was that this strange expediency created more confusion® A 
separate court* with councils and officials creating their own laws, 
grew up at the cloistered palace* During the eighty years that this 
existed (1072 — H56), the cloistered enperors also lived in pomp* 
Graft and bribery existed there, also® This added another burden on 
the people® 

In the provinces, the barons became more independent and refused 
to pay the expenses of courts at Kyoto without anything in return* 

When these growing families took to quarreling in their own localities 


18 


the court took a short-sighted policy of playing one against another® 
By this means , certain families like the Taira and the Minamoto gained 
influence at Kyoto® 

All the intriguing forces became involved in succession disputes* 
Titular emperors, backed by one court faction, resented the inter¬ 
ference of cloistered enperors backed by another family* So, with 
all these grounds for quarrels, the years from 900 to 1200 saw a 
succession of petty wars and a great increase in the power of the 
military families, and a corresponding decrease in the power of the 
court* The court became a pawn in the struggle for power of the 
military families* 

The Minamoto family was gaining in influence, when suddenly, 
the Taira family, also related to the Inperial family, practically 
ousted the Minamoto out of Kyoto* Returning to Kanto under the 
able leadership of Yoritomo, the fall of the Taira was plotted by 
the clan* At Kyoto, Taira Kiyomori fell victim to its gay life* 

At the same time, he was extremely arbitrary, and soon whole Japan 
was against him® Upon Kiyomori 11 s death, the Tairas lost their grip 
on Kyoto® Fleeing before the Minamoto, they headed west, took to 
boats, and finally were annihilated at the battle of Danoura in the 
Straits of Shimonoseki in 1185© The child emperor, Antoku, grandson 
of Kiyomori on the maternal side, was drowned by his nurse to escape 
capture® 


19 


Yoritomo put his candidate for the throne in the palace at 
Kyoto* for which efforts, he was appointed Shogun* or generalissimo® 

In keeping with legal rights* he set up a military administrative 
government at Kamakura. And so came into "being the feudal period 
of Japanese history. 

Continental influences waned in the Heian Period. What had 
been inported during the Nara was absorbed and assimilated to pro— 
duce a truly Japanese culture for the first time. However* it 
was hardly what might be called a characteristic Japanese culture. 
Influenced by a Buddhist theory that the end of the world was near* 
the aristocrats took a playful attitude toward life. They sought 
pleasure in a refined*, sophisticated* and sentiments! manner. 

Women began to play an important role in Kyoto life. The great 
classics of Japanese literature were produced by women of this 
period. Murasakx no Shikibu* a Pujiwara* wove into "Genji Mono- 
gatari 99 the philosophy of the times. 

The hiragana was developed* notably by Kobo L&ishi* and a 
distinctly Japanese calligraphy was used to write the novels and 
histories of the times. Poetry continued to be popular. Great 
compilations of waka were started. As the fortunes of the Fujiwara 
declined* and the gayety of the court began to lose its former sparkle 
and carefreeness* themes of novels and histories became retrospective 
of the glories and splendors of the past. Literature became more 
sentimental and melancholic. 


20 


Somewhat akin to the Christian theory of the Judgement day, 
the Buddhist theory of the Latter days prophesied that sometime 
after the turn of the tenth century 9 chaos would descend upbn the 
earth for the sins of man* The aristocratic and upper classes who 
read Buddhist scriptures were influenced by this, and it caused the 
effeminate, escapist outlook of the Heian court© 

But Buddhism was undergoing changes and was preparing to meet 
the problems of the times© During the Nara, it had been material* 3 
istic, and the priesthood had their fingers in the political pie© 
The priests followed the court to Kyoto, and in the neighboring 
mountains, they built huge monasteries (Koya and Hiei) from which 
armed monks sometimes descended upon the capital to make demands 
and to take part in the strifes of its decline© But leaders were 
leaving these monasteries to start branches which stressed true re¬ 
ligion and faith to give strength to the people during the tribula¬ 
tions and insecurities of the middle ages© 

THE KAMAKURA AMD MURQMACHX BAKHFUS 1192 - 1^7 - 1574 

1. Establishment of the Kamakura bakufu. 

2. Mongol invasions. 

3. Establishment of the Ashikaga bakufu. 

4. Humiliation of the Imperial House and Japan. 

5» Sengoku Jidai. 

6. Mass faiths develop in Buddhism 


21 



7* Zen at height in Ashikaga court* 

&* Rise of commerce* 

. With the defeat of his greatest enemies, the Taira at Danoura, 
Mlnamoto Yoritomo marched in tri],}mph to the capital, where he served 
in several government positions* Then he returned to Kamakura to 
establish a military headquarters* In 1132 , he was made Shogun 8 
which gave him administrative and judicial powers as well. In this 
way, stem*, militaristic Kamakura became the active seat of govern¬ 
ment 9 while the Emperor reigned in name only at effeminate Kyoto* This 
may be considered the third major event in Japanese history* 

Yoritomo, the founder of the bakufu, the feudal government, 
was a great man in everything except Ms intense suspicion and dis¬ 
trust of people* He hunted down and killed members of Ms own 
family, weakening his family to such an extent that it did not 
continue for long after his death® Actual rule of Kamakura soon 
fell into the hands of the efficient Ho jo Family* 

Meanwhile, on the continent, the Mongols, on the backwash of 
their invasion of Europe, eontenplated the subjugation of Japan. 

Kublai Khan 0 s demands for tribute from Japan went unanswered* 

Suddenly, in 1274, fifty thousand troops in nine hundred ships in¬ 
vaded the island empire* After ravaging Tsushima, Iki, and the 
northern part of Kyushu and while anchored offshore one night, a 
sudden typhoon destroyed a tMrd of the force* The remainder 


22 


returned to China© But in 1281, they returned again, 150,000 strong 
in four thousand sMps 0 The defenders held them at hay for two months, 
and just before a Mongol attempt to storm the defenses of Kyushu, 
another typhoon came to rout the foe , Until 1945, the Japanese sin¬ 
cerely believed these winds were sent by the gods, and that when 
peril again beset their sacred shores, the gods would again vent 
their wrath on any enemy© 

After the invasions, the Kamakura bakufti relaxed, and its strength 
declined as luxury was introduced into the former simple life© Cor¬ 
ruption, favoritism, and intrigue sapped the former military effi¬ 
ciency© This was keenly observed by the emperor Godaigo from Kyoto© 

But before he could muster enough support to overthrow the Ho jo, his 
plotting was discovered and he was ignominiously exiled© 

Gadaigo, however, returned with the aid of the Ashikaga family 
and crushed the bakufu capital© 

But the Ashikaga, in turn, betrayed the emperor and set up 
their own puppet in exchange for the appointment to the shogunate© 

Thus was established the Ashikaga or Muromachi bakufu, which was 
to last two hundred and forty-five years from 1337 to 1574* the dark 
period of Japanese history© The period was initiated by betrayal 
of the euperor® This selfsame Godaigo escaped from the Ashikaga to 
the hills of Yoshimo, and for 45 years (1337 “ 1332), there were two 
Imperial courts in Japan 0 Selfish, cruel, and mercenary, the 
Aghikaga. brought humiliation and shame to Japan by acknowledging 


23 


themselves vassals of China and paying tribute*, In Japan, the 
puppet emperors of this period were pitifully neglected® One 
emperor could not be buried for forty days for lack of funds e 
Others had to go into business to eat® 

The purpose of contact with China was the acquisition of lux¬ 
urious goods , commerce * and revenue® For further revenue* the Ashi- 
kaga crushed the peasantry with a levy of seventy per cent of their 
cropso And because the Ashikaga never were too strong and could not 
keep order in the provinces , there was constant fighting between feud¬ 
al lords® Thousands of farmers becane soldiers, brigands, and pirates® 

These pirates invaded lands even as far away as Siam and caused 
endless diplomatic problems® One evil lead to another, till finally 
anarchy reigned in the land® The Period of Wars (Sengoku Jidai) 
lasted a hundred years, from l46y - 15 y4 Even the great Buddhist 

monasteries joined in the struggles® This was the Japan observed 
by the first Europeans to come to Japan, the Portuguese 9 in the 
middle of the sixteenth century® They were very much weleon^d for 
their guns and other European goods® 

Buddhism in the *feian Jidai was in part of the cause of the break¬ 
down of society® In the centuries of darkness that followed, emerged 
faiths in which the mass of people could seek comfort A.nfl salvation® 
These were the Jodo and Jodo Shinshu faiths, which required only the 
repetition of the sacred words, ,e Namu Amida Butsu, M by the faithful 
for salvation. 


24 


For the warrior class 9 another sterner type of Buddhism was more 
suited© Zen Buddhism was mystic® Its aim was to make the adherent 
forget himself and the world® Reason and logic were defied© An 
attitude* not of fatalism* hut of discipline and firmness was the 
goal® Whereas the priesthood taught the illiterate fighting men 
to become ascetics* they themselves took an active part in politics® 
Several became highest advisors of the Shogun* and in foreign rela¬ 
tions they were often the diplomats® 

In these harsh times * learning*, except by a few Zen monks* was 
neglected® What works were produced were the tales of war and his¬ 
tories of the glories of the past© 

Arts, on the other hand*, flourished under the extravagant patron¬ 
age of the Ashikaga shoguns, who imitated the Fujiwara* surpassing 
them in splendor and extravagance© One A£hikaga* Toshimasa* took up 
dogs as a hobby® Clothing them in silks* he paraded them in the 
streets of the capital* forcing the common people to bow to them® 

The Kinkakuyi and (xSnkakuji were gorgeous dream palaces® fainting in 
both the simple* but effective* Japanese styles and in the more 
elaborate Chinese styles flourished® The famous Kano family of 
painters produced their fi rst works in this period® Sword making 
also became an art® All in all* some of the finest examples of 
Japanese culture are products of this period© 


25 


Throughout the middle ages, the peasant had a difficult time* 
Many farms were deserted® Taxes were exorbitant® -Peasant uprisings 
were not infrequent® On the other hand, commerce developed. At the 
Bakufu capital, in the ports of northern Kyushu, close to the con¬ 
tinent, and around the castles of dainyo* cities developed. A mid¬ 
dle class arose. Money became a source of power. Tanomoshi were 
started. A fifty per cent rate for money lending was sanctioned 
by the government. 

Slavery had been abolished in the early Heian. But in many 
cases, the farmers who tilled the estates of the dairnyo were not bet¬ 
ter off. A class even more to be pitied were the Eta — social out¬ 
casts, in many cases immigrants who were never assimilated — who 
eked out meager existences as executioners, shoemakers, butchers, 
or beggars. 

AZUCHI-MOMOYAMA PERIOD 1581 — 1605 

1. Transitional period between the Sengoku Jidai and re-estab- 
lishment of order and the long isolation. 

2. The careers of the triuwerate of leaderss Nobunaga, Hide- 
yoshi, and ^eyasu. 

3. The Korean Expedition. 

4. The coming of Christianity. 

The hapless Ashikaga brought shame to Japan, caused the coun¬ 
try to disintegrate, and plunged the fair land into anarchy. Might 


26 



is right and every man for himself were the philosophies of the times® 

An upland coming leader of the struggles was one ^da Nobunaga* a samu¬ 
rai of inferor birth* After several requests from the Emperor to 
come to Kyoto to restore order* ^obunaga came south* % became vice 
shogun* and starting from the home provinces 9 be proceeded method¬ 
ically to stabilize conditions* 

But right at Kyoto 0 s back door lay the great monasteries* which 
openly harbored his enemies® Nobunaga dispatched his able lieute¬ 
nant* Hideyoshi* also of humble birth* to put an end once and for 
all to the political meddling of the priests* Upon being surrounded* 
the monks frantically tried to buy a peace* but to no avail* The 
splended monastery* Hieizan* was burned to the ground* and the inmates 
were put to the sword* 

On the other hand* Nobunaga* respecting the h u m a n ity and the 
early spirit of the Jesuit missionaries* gave them privileges* 

Before completing his task of unifying Japan* Hobunaga was 
assassinated* Hideyoshi* at that time, on a campaign in Shikoku* 
hurried back to hold the capital© There he maneuvered himself into 
the regency of the empire* 

Concluding a treaty with Tokugawa leyasu* bideyoshi soon 
consumated Nobunaga°s work* Fortifying strategic Osaka castle* deal¬ 
ing generously and cleverly with enemies* he suddenly found peace 
in the land., and also* the problem?; of a huge unemployed army and 


27 


many lieutenants to be rewarded, upon his hands< 


However, Hideyoshi had foreseen this problem and had a sinple 
plan, the age old solution to domestic problems —■ foreign inva¬ 
sion* His powerful forces, two hundred thousand strong, with a hun¬ 
dred thousand in reserve in Kyushu, swept up the Korean peninsula 
and crossed the Chinese border in 1592* But, whereas the Japanese 
had developed land fighting, their sea tactics were no match for a 
clever Korean admiral 0 The problem of transportation became so 
acute that the Japanese signed a truce with the Chinese and recalled 
their forces to southern Korea* 

In 1597? ^ideyoshi ordered the reopening of hostilities* The 
following year, upon Hideyoshi°s death, the Japanese withdrew with 
nothing acconplished* 

Nobunaga had patronized Christianity* Hidoyshi tolerated it 
only for political expediency in handling the Christian daimyo of 
Kyushu and for the trade that acconpanied it* Hideyoshi sent envoys 
to *ndia and to the Philippines to make commercial treaties, but 
they were not successful* To the contrary, Hideyoshi observed evils 
that accompanied the influx of the missionaries a The San Felipe 
affair of 1596 climaxed his fears* When the Sapanish galleon, San 
Felipe, ran aground in Shikoku, some Spanish sailors spoke indis¬ 
creetly of the policy of soldiers following missionaries to add 
lands to the domains of European kings* Actually, some dainyo were 


already in debt to the Portuguese 9 who displayed an unholy desire 
to acquire land© ^ideyoshi promptly banned Christianity in Japan® 

But there was actually very little persecution of Christians during 
his lifetime because he never gave up trying to get foreign trade® 

Contacts with the Portuguese gave impetus to trade and comcterce 
within Japan® Hideyoshi stabilized the currency on a Japanese basis e 
for Chinese coins had circulated in the previous period® 

Hideyoshi 0 s soldiers brought back pottery and Korean glaciers, 
who established famous urns like those of Xnari, Arita, and Satsuma® 
The tea ceremony became a fado 

THE EDO JXHAI l601 - 1868 

1® Centralized feudalism in contrast to the previous decentral- 
ized feudalism® 

2 e Isolation® 

3® The class system® 

4® Plebian culture® 

5® The coming of Perry® 

6. The collapse of feudalism® 

With Hideyoshi 0 s death, the question of succession to power 
— for Hideyoshi left only an infant son — caused the splitting 
up of Kyoto into rival factions again® Xeyasu, the patient, had 
been faithful to Hideyoshi, but had always preserved his strength® 


29 



Xeyasu easily crushed the opposition at Sekigahara in l600 D The 
Toyotomi 0 s being weak* abided their time at Osaka until 1615 * but 
it was no struggle* Surrounded* then their outer defenses smashed* 
the entire Toyotorrd clan committed suicide* 

Xeysu was appointed Shogun in 1603 » but retired two years later 
in favor of his son* whom he wanted to train and to enable himself 
to use his energy in laying the foundations for a shake-proof bakufu* 

Xeyasu made Edo his capital because he feared the corrupting 
influences of Kyoto* ^ext he re-distributed his provinces* The 
strategic central portions of the island were divided among the 
Tokugawa and trusted allies* Those daimyo who made peace with him 
after Sekigahara were isolated in northern, western* and southern Japan* 
and excluded from administrative posts at Edo 0 Those outside daimyo 
were further kept financially embarrassed by being required to con¬ 
struct roads and temples and shrines© Consent of the Tokugawa was 
required for marriages between outside daimyo families* The third 
Tokugawa Shogun* Xemitsu* hit upon the brilliant (Sankinkotai) system 
of dainyo spending alternate periods in residence at Edo* and when 
returning to their own fiefs* leaving their wives and families as 
hostages at Edo* 

In 1615 9 the fundamental laws of the shogunate were formulated 
(Buke 9atto)© Discipline of the fighting class* the diversion of 
energy to learning* and stipulations for a system of counter¬ 
espionage were some of its clauses© The laws for the nobles 


30 


(&hge Hat to) c Lamped down on the aristocrats and so isolated the 
enperor that he became politically impotent® 

lemitsu* the third shogun* perfected the adminstrative machinery* 
making it capable of functioning smoothly with ordinary leadership® 

A eonprehensive system of ministers* commissioners* city commission¬ 
ers 9 and organization of even the village into groups of five 
(gonin gumi) to administer* regiment* and counterespionage every 
phase of life was set up® 

Actually* the basis of Tokugawa power was military preponder” 
enee with a rigid systematic division of power among the daiiiyo 
and a scrupulous standard of military discipline® Any infraction 
of the laws* be they by loyal or outside d&irqyo* was severely pun¬ 
ished with loss of feudal holding® Naturally* with time and the 
weakening of the Bakufu and corruption in the higher administrative 
posts* infractions went unpunished. 

Another factor in the maintenance of Tokugawa power was the 
isolation policy® Various interpretations are possible for it® If 
we look at it with the principle aim of the Tokugawa regime—internal 
security—in mind 9 it provides the basis for a logical explanation® 

The Tokugawa welcon^d foreign trade for its prosperity and revenue® \\y 
But this prosperity and revenue must accrue t© Tokugawa ‘interest; 
in other words* trade must flow into Japan through Ed© and not through 
Kyushu* where the clever Sat sum clan could gain financial and mater¬ 
ial power as well as have political contact with foreigners. 




Hideyoshi had tried* without success* to persuade the Portu¬ 
guese to come to Edo® leyasu tried to have the Spanish Galleons 
make Edo a port of call on their annual Mexico-to-Philippines 
cruise* also without success,. In contrast to the Portuguese 
^esuits 8 sincerity* the Spanish Franciscan 8 s religion smacked of 
propaganda and seemed to verify the fears aroused by the San Felipe 
incident,, Even the Spanish* who came upon invitations to trade 
seemed more interested in the religious angle* 

The Dutch* without missionary conplications* also came to the 
east about this time and established regular voyages to Japan by 
1609. They also preferred the better-established trade centers in 
Kyushu to the distant capital® 

Will Adams* an Englishman* had come over with the Dutch and 
quickly became a favorite of leyasu* building ships* teaching navi¬ 
gation* geography* and European affairs® Through him , leyasu tried 
to bring English trade to Edo* but the English, too, came only as 
far as Kyushu. 

leyasu urged the daimyo to develop international trade* some 
of whose ships sailed to India, Siam* and even to Mexico® But here 
again* it was not the Kanto dainyo* but the Kyushu dainyo* who were 
active® 

So gradually* the Bakufu came to relinquish the idea of foreign 
trade and contact, which meant a stricter policy towards Christianity. 


32 


In the Osaka eampaigi against the Toyotomi* Japanese Christians 
opposed leyasu. Other hostile acts and suspicions resulted in increas¬ 
ing persecution* Missionaries were hunted down and burned at the 
stake* The construction of ocean-going ships was forbidden* Japan¬ 
ese were forbidden to go abroad for trade or any other purpose* and 
any Japanese returning to Japan from a trip abroad was to be put to 
death* 

Finally * in 1637 occurred the Shimabara revolt in Kyushu* in 
which thirty thousand Christians* men* women* and children* rose up 
against the authorities because of oppression* This was put down 
and was followed by a great purge of Christians* and Christianity 
itself was absolutely forbidden* All foreign contact was ended* 
except for Chinese and an annual Butch ship to the isolated island of 
Deshima in Nagasaki Harbor® In this Banner* the Toku^wa closed 
Japan 0 s doors and eyes to the world for two hundred and fifty years® 

The maintenance of the status quo — an attempt to prevent change 
and development — the law of history — was the desire of the Tokd- 
gawa® They soon found out its impossiblity® But they did not 
possess the genius nor the courage of the founders of the system to 
make adjustments® 

Strict division and social isolation of the outside dainyo 
created intense clan feeling within the feudatories® Old families 
like the Shimazu of Satsuma in Kyushu felt superior to the new 


33 


daimyo in favor in Edo* The lords of Hizen in Kyushu, Tosa in Shi¬ 
koku, and Chosbu in western Japan developed strong clan organizations 
and bided the time when they would overthrow the Tokugawa* 

Enmity of the Tokugawa also developed through a one-way flow of 
money into Edo* The end of foreign trade struck a sad blow to the up- 
and-coming cities of Nagasaki, Hirado, Osaka, and Nagoya* Merchants* 
money lenders, artisans, and artists headed for Edo, where the life of 
the nation was now concentrated* Forced residence of the more than 
three hundred daimyo in Edo found great mansions being built to house 
their families and retainers* This military had no duties or work, 
so to pass the time away, they naturally turned to the quickly de¬ 
veloping diversions of the city® Regular incomes soon proved to be 
inadequate, but obliging money lenders solved that problem* In 
vain, the Bakufu passed laws to prevent extravagance and the in¬ 
crease in power of the bourgeois©* The result was the draining of 
feudatory money into the hands of merchants in Edo and a weakening 
of economic conditons in the provinces* This was not exactly the 
fault of the Tokugawa, but they were blamed for it regardless* 

The military despised the merchant class* In the Tokugawa 
social system, the merchant was placed at the bottom of the social 
ladder* But the vast accumulation of samurai, enterprising business 
men, and leisure time in Edo soon found samurai in debt and in fear 
of money lenders, but enjoying the luxuries, gayeties, and vices of 
city life* There was a social breakdown of society* 


34 


At times the Bakufu administrators were corrupt and undermined 
the prestige of their own system. In the early 1200% there were a 
series of floods, earthquakes* fires, famines s and droughts through* 
out the land 3 which brought Japan closer to an economic inpasse* 

One of the major stipulations of the military laws was the re= 
quirement that daimyo and aamrai spend their time in learning. Con- 
fucianism* which emphasized social order and ethical conduct,, was 
assumed to be a safe topic for study r The Tokugawa well recognized 
the peril of dangerous thoughts* History also became a popular topic 
of study,. 

The trouble was the Tokugawa could not prevent different schools 
of Confucianism from springing up* Confucianism taught loyalty to 
the prince* Tracing back in Japanese history* scholars found records 
of emperors ruling directly over the people, “Why* 0 * asked opponents 
of the Tokugawa, “should there be loyalty to the Shogun?** 

Profiting from Kamakura and Ashikaga experiences 9 the Tokugawa 
never allowed the Buddhist priests to exert any intellectual or 
spiritual influence. The Confucian revival had negative influence 
on Buddhism, especially on the spiritual faiths that required only 
the mumbling of a few sacred words,, 

In Buddhism* s place-, Shinto was revived as a spiritual force* 

It could have only one result—worship and study of the old karai* 
and upon inspection of tbe tfaeogyof the divine ancestry of the 


35 


Imperial House* the raising of the question* ^What right have the 
Tokugawa to rule 1 ? 89 

So there was intellectual opposition to the Bakufu on top of the 
political hatred and the economic and social disintegration of their 
system* Pressure of foreign powers to open Japan to international 
relations finally caused the Tokugawa regime to topple over* 

Prom as early as 1739» the Russians* expanding to the east* tried 
to open relations with Japan* These attenpts became more aggressive 
in the early 1800°s* In fact* their advance down the Kuriles* Sakhalin* 
and northern Hokkaido was a definite military threat* 

Americans were started on the China trade for silk and tea in 
the late 1700°©* Their whaling expeditions in the northern Pacific 
also required ports to obtain supplies and make repairs* 

The British tried to take over the Deshima factory in the early 
1800 8 s arguing that they had conquered the Butch in the Napoleonic 

wars* 


Between the years 1844 to 1849* seven attempts by the Americans 
the British* the Butch* and the French to open Japan put the Bakufu 
in a dilemna* A strong sentiment within the Bakufu arose to open 
the country to possibly relieve economic conditons* to introduce 
cultural stimuli* and to develop her military organization to pre¬ 
vent conquest by western powers* 


36 


In 1853, Commodore Perry, leading a squadron of four United 
States warships, steamed into Tokyo Bay* Refusing to go to Nagasaki 
to negotiate, he forced a formal acceptance of a letter from the 
President of the United States (Fillmore) to the Emperor of Japan, 
requesting a treaty of friendship and commerce,, Early the follow- 
ing year, Perry returned with a larger squadron to receive the 
Japanese reply * Awed by vastly superior force, the Japanese con¬ 
cluded a treaty of friendship* The other Western powers were able to 
secure similar treaties in short order*, 

This act of the Bakufu, whereby they abandoned the time«honored 
Tokugawa policy, was immediately taken up by anti-Tokugawa factions 
all over the land as a domestic political issue* But the Bakufu 
could not repudiate the treaties * They were caught between the devil 
and the deep blue sea* 

Townsend %rris 9 the first consul to Japan from the United States 
under terms of Perry 0 s treaty, by tact and persistence finally secured 
in IS 58 a commercial treaty* The United States received full extra- 
territoriality rights ~ the authority to have civil and commercial 
jurisdiction over American citizens residing in'Japan© 

The conservative element now openly opposed the Bakufu with vio^ 
lence* They assassinated high Bakufu officials who advocated develop¬ 
ment of relations with the powers* To embarrass the government, they 
insulted, threatened, and attacked foreigners* When she Bakufu was 


37 


unable to give the Western powers satisfaction for damage done, the 
powers took it upon themselves to get respect and indemnity* Kago¬ 
shima was razed* The fortifications along the Shimonoseki straits 
were smashed* These were the fiefs of the Satsuma and Choshu feud¬ 
atories , the leaders of the anti-Tokugawa faction* 

In 1866, a new emperor and a new shogun took up their respec¬ 
tive duties* This provided a good opportunity for the anti-Tokugawa 
to present a memorial to the shogun to withdraw from the government 
so that there would be unity in the land* This advice was taken, and 
the young Emperor Meiji proclaimed the start of a new era in Japanese 
history on New Year 8 s Day, 1868* 

The aim of the Edo Government was maintenance of the status quo* 

In the social field, the Bakufu classified the people in a rigid occu¬ 
pational basis* At the top were the military, with the power of kirisute 
gomen — the right to cut down the peasantry upon the slightest 
pretext* Following them in iuportance were the farmers, the producers 
of national wealth* Artisans came next, and finally, the despised 
merchants* Others outside these classifications were the nobles, 
the clergy, and at the opposite pole, those who were not considered 
humans — The Eta and hinin* Regulations governing their conduct, 
such as, dress and etiquette, were extremely detailed* 

Inactive life, rise of money economy, and the developnent of 
city life with its evils gradually undermined the rigid standards 


38 


of the military* Samurai were forever in debt to the money lenders. 

Poor saiairai families adopted sons of the wealthy merchant class into 
their families. 

Though agriculture was recognized* the Bakufu inconsistently 
did not adopt a paternalistic policy toward the peasant. Perhaps 
their potential power was feared* At any rate, the farmers could 
wear only cotton clothes* could not use conveyances* could have no 
amusements, could not eat the very rice they produced* and were taxed 
exorbitantly* 

The merchants and artisans were placed at the bottom of the social 
class because they were considered unproductive of necessary goods* 

In fact, what they produced was considered harmful to society* Actually* 
their power grew by leaps and bounds* They were the developers of 
cities y trade* and transportation* laying the foundations for a nation¬ 
al economy* They were the leaders of the vigorous culture of the com¬ 
mon man- 

The social outcasts continued their sorry lives* restricted to 
base occupations and socially ostracized* 

But these distinctions did not remain static^ During the Gen- 
roku period Cl6SS - 1J00), a particularly gay and wild period* society 
degenerated lamentably* Socially and politically restricted* the 
samurai turned to pleasures, They lived only in the present, governed 
by vanity, seeking gayety and love* Dancers, entertainers geisha, 


39 


and prostitutes were segregated into the gay quarters * Yoshiwara* 
and the townspeople* high and low* followed right in 0 This section 
of Edo was the source of art* literature* and culture of the 
times* 4 

Marriages prevented by social differences caused the shinju* 
or love suicides* which were immortalized in literature* The Bakufu 
banned shinju* exposed the bodies of the dead lovers* in public* con¬ 
fiscated family holdings* and banned the sale of sentimental litera¬ 
ture without too much success© 

When leyasu established the Bakufu* rigidity and formality 
was necessary* One reason for the long peace* in fact* was the 
conplete regimentation of all classes and the regulation of all 
conduct® The collapse of this system was brought about by lack 
of provision for changes in the laws© 

These laws so clashed with actual conditions that for a cen¬ 
tury* 1700 - 1800* the population remained stationary at twenty-six 
million* The peasantry* who conposed nine-tenths of the populations* 
were so poverty-stricken that abortion and infanticide were prac¬ 
ticed to reduce the: number of mouths to feed© Local peasant up¬ 
risings mushroomed periodically® 

But the basic industry was still agriculture* The area of farm 
lands was doubled in the Tokugawa* Farming methods and irrigation 
were inproved® New crops like sweet potatoes, tobacco* and sugar 
cane were introduced© 


1*0 


Fishing developed,, especially around Edo„ Mining in copper,, iron,, 
and coal was a Bakufu monopoly* 

Manufacture was still in the handicraft and cottage stage*, that is„ 
work was mostly by hand or very simple nachinery in private homes* 

Monopolistic guilds controlled the manufacture and selling of many 
goods during the early part of the era© Towards the latter part of the 
era, more specialized business practices arose© One was the system of 
supercommission (tonya) merchants„ who handled every step of manufacture 
to collection and selling at the market* Large stock associations in cit¬ 
ies was another innovation with the development ©f commerce® Independent 
brokers and wholesalers and traveling salesmen also appeared to facili¬ 
tate the development of commerc@ 0 

Coins were not standard* The Bakufu issued coins and paper money* 
The feudatories could issue only paper money* A rudimentary banking sys¬ 
tem slowly developed in Osaka,, which gradually became the economic center,, 
replacing the artificially stimulated center at Edo* 

The most interestii^ phase of Edo society is the culture of the com¬ 
mon man (Heimin bunka)© With peace in the land and action and thought 
restricted*, the people of the towns*, high and Xow„ turned their energy 
to the pursuit of pleasure© The idea of Uk|ro prevailed in the Genroku© 
This conceived life to be full ©f troubles„ fleeting,, and intimately witb= 
out any meaning or significance© This caused the people to live only for 
the present in a devil-may-care 8 18 eat 9 drink*, and be merry 18 spirit© 


Boldness and extravagance were rampant, benefiting zhe develop- 
meat of art. The theatre and segregated gay quarters became the source 
of Edo culture© ^t was developed by the middle class with the patron¬ 
age of the upper. Whereas the government frowned on it and tried to 
suppress it, since it was spontaneous and natural, it eventually be¬ 
came a national culture© 

Literature was crude, natural, realistic, humorous, satirical, 
and sometimes vulgar© Nothing truly outstanding was produced, how¬ 
ever, in the field of novels© 

The popularity of the theatre in Japan dates from this Edo peri¬ 
od© The theatre was so influential upon conduct that women were soon 
prohibited from the stage because their influence was demoralizing 
according to Tokugawa standards© M©n started to take the roles of 
women, but their conduct and life were strictly regulated© Actors 
were worshipped, their costumes and language adopted, and their 
gestures and mannerisms imitated© 

Chikamatsu emerged as the Shakespeare of Japan, writing ninety- 
seven plays on historical and social themes* Combining a classic with 
a natural style, he depicted the clash of emotions with reason, morals 
and order of the times© 

An entirely different development and yet as truly representative 
of the Japanese was the haiku© Basho took the Haiku and suggested in 
their short seventeen syllables profound and exquisite philosophies 


and sentiments,* The haiku artists took the idea of ukiyo and de¬ 
veloped it philosophically *— that is, becoming sad and serene at 
the nystery of life — in contrast to the realistic spirit of the 
mass* 

Pictoral art of the Edo was outstanding* The traditions of the 
standards set at the Ashikaga court was continued® In addition, un¬ 
known and unrealized by themselves , the Japanese developed ukiyoe 
“ wood block prints — to a high degree® Americans who cam over 
in the Meiji era had to make the Japanese realize the individuality 
and beauty of the prints* 

These ukiyoe used as subjects commonplace things as seen through 
common eyes. It developed through a need to reproduce in mass quan¬ 
tities — pictures for picture books, literature on the theatre, and 
illustrations of artists and their costumes and roles, Hiroshige, 
best known in the west, used landscapes as themes, but the stylized, 
flowing lines and facial expressions of the more representative 
prints of women and actors have their own peculiar charms, 

MODERN HISTORY 1868 - 19^5 

The ascent of Meiji to the throne started a period of phenomenal 
changes within Japan and in the history of the Far East and the world. 
The processes of development can be classified as followss 
1. Unification 1868 - 1878 

(1) Tokyo made capital 1868 

(2) National government organized 


*3 




(3) Class system abolished I869 

(4) Military conscription 1873 
2 e Internal development 1878 - 1889 

(1) Wholesale importation of Western civilization 

(2) Development of national economy 

(3) Establishment of a national educational system 

3. Creation of the modern state 1889 " 1899 

(1) Constitution promulgated 1889 

(2) Modem legal system 

(3) Sino-Japanese War 1894 - 1895 

(4) Extraterritoriality ended 1899. 

4. Continentalism 1899 ~ 1918 

(1) Boxer uprising 1900 

(2) Russo-Japanese War 1904 - 1905 

(3) Korea annexed 1910 

(4) World War 

(5) The twenty-one demands 

5. Hegemony in the Ear East 1919 - 1929 

(1) Versatile 1919 

(2) Washington Conference 1922 

(3) United States Exclusion Act 1924 

(4) Economic nationalism in the world 

(5) Failure of party government 

6. Quest for empire 1930 - 194l 

(l) Manchurian Incident 


44 







( 2 ) Withdrawal from the League of Nations 1933 

( 3 ) China Incident 1937 

(4) Tripartite Alliance 1940 

(5) Pearl Harbor 194l 

( 6 ) Defeat 1945 

The Meiji Restoration, with the end of the feudal system and the 
reestablishment of international relations, is easily the outstanding 
event in Japanese history. It happened not a day too soon, for when 
Japan was awakened, she had been left far behind in material progress. 
The ambition of the proud, fiery, and young samurai leaders of new 
Japan was to attain equality with the Western powers. 

In April, 1S68, the Charter Oath of Five Articles was declared 
by Enperor Meiji, Its most inportant articles proposed a delibera¬ 
tive assembly and stipulated that knowledge would be sought through¬ 
out the world. Edo was made the new capital and renaued Tokyo; the 
Tokugawa castle became the new palace of the Imperial family. In 1871 , 
the feudal dainyos voluntarily gave up their rights and holdings. 

Their fiefs were organized into the present forty-three provinces, and 
once more the administration of the entire country, central and local, 
returned to the throne. 

Abolition of the class system in I 869 and the end of the feudal 
system were severe blows to the samurai. The introduction of univer¬ 
sal military conscription was likewise unthinkable to them. Untrained 


and unfit for any commercial endeavors, many of them became ronin. 
Various dissatisfactions against the new regime found them uniting in 
various parts of the country and revolting from 1870 to 1877> 

Satsuma forces and the new conscript arixy put them all down without too 
much trouble o 

Totally ignorant of international law* the Japanese made treaties 
unfavorable to themselves c After the first embassy to the United 
States in I 860 * the motivating drive of Meiji leaders became equal- 
ity in international relations and in culture* In 1871* the Xwakura 
mission set out to attempt to revise treaties and to observe legal 
systems* finances* public works* education, and commerce. Fifty- 
four children* including six girls* were brought over to live and 
study in the West. It was strongly inpressed upon Iwakura that in¬ 
ternal conditions in Japan made treaty revision impractical at that 
time. The Japanese were made to realize that internal development 
was a prerequisite to international equality. Bismrk told them of 
the inportance of power. 

So Western ideas and things were brought in wholesale. Hail- 
roads were laid; telegraph lines were strung; the Western calendar 
was adopted; the samurai chownage was abolished, as well as the proud 
privilege of wearing swords; commoners started to adopt family names. 
All sorts of reform organizations mushroomed* most of them superfi¬ 
cial. The Rokumeikan in Tokyo was the government social center where 
the upper class in awkward Western clothes tripped the light fantastic. 


46 


The Japanese found sending students abroad to learn and then re 
turning to teach too slow* So they employed Americans, English, 
French, and Germans in government service to introduce and teach West 
em methods directly in governments, science, engineering, military 
science, naval science, and education* 

A national compulsory system of education was established in 
1872* Americans were the first administrators of the system* Within 
a few decades, the literacy rate was equaling that of the most 
advanced nations* Many private colleges were established, some with 
Christian assistance; these were eventually recognized as first-rate 
universities by the Department of Education* 

The Mitsui family, leading Edo financiers, was called upon to 
start a national bank* Later, the present Nippon Ginko was esta¬ 
blished* With the indemnity received from China after the Sino- 
Japanese War, Japan went on the gold standard* 

In industry, agriculture, commerce and transportation, the 
government also led the way by establishing government bureaus to 
assist private enterprises by subsidizing and by establishing schools 
The developments in ocean transportation — the creation of a huge 
merchant marine — was particularly plienomenal* 

But Western political ideas came in, too* Radicals clamoured 
for representative government* Foundations for the creation of a 
constitutional government were slowly laid through the creation of 


4 ? 


a new peerage and the establishment of a responsible cabinet and the 
sending of a commission to the United States and Europe to study 
existing constitutions and their operation,* The chief impetus toward 
creation of a constitutional government was the desire for recogni¬ 
tion by foreign powers of the political development of Japan and, con¬ 
sequently, to be able to demand the right to be treated equally in 
foreign affairs* The promulgation of a constitution in 1889 was a 
big factor in the final ending of the unequal extraterritoriality 
treaties ten years later* 

As far as the constitution itself was concerned, it established 
a representative government, with two houses and a responsible cabinet* 
But it was imperialistic in that Jae long-claimed absolute theoretical 
powers of the Emperor were put down in a document* In it was written 
(Article 4) "The emperor is head of the empire, combining in himself 
all powers of the state * n 

Ever since the opening of Japan, there had been advocates of 
foreign expansion as an outlet for internal dissatisfactions and the 
acquisition of land and power in the manner of the western states* 

The weak neighbor, Korea, naturally became the first target of 
expansionists,. 

But China, slowly and clumsily waking up, contested any attempts 
of Japan to meddle in Korean affairs* Affc er years of jockeying for 
influence in the Korean government, the Japanese finally attacked the 


48 


Chinese and, contrary to the expectation of the world* mopped them up 
in a half year 11 s time* 

China was utterly humiliated by the Treaty of Shiraonoseki of 1895* 
China was forced to recognize the independence of Korea* whom she had 
historically considered a vassal, China agreed to pay a huge indemnity 
(200 million taels — approximately $ 60 , 000 * 000 )* She granted residence 
and commercial rights in Chinese ports* and she ceded the Pescadores* 
Formosa* and the Liaotung Peninsula* 

But the triumph of the Japanese was bitterly clouded by a lesson 
in power politics,, Russia* supported by France and Germany* intervened* 
presumably for the sake of peace in Asia* to force the return of the 
Liaotung Peninsula to China, Japan was helpless; she agreed, A few 
years later, when Russia turned right around and got a twenty-five 
year lease of the same peninsula, including the strategic harbor of 
Port Arthur, besides other concessions in Manchuria and Korea, Japan 
realized whom she would have to fight next. 

Otherwise, the Sino-Japanese war was very profitable to the 
Japanese, International prestige was established. The people gained 
confidence in themselves. Their financial system was set up with the 
indemnity received* and the press was given a tremendous impetus* 
Shipping was given another boost transporting troops and supplies to 
the continent* 

At the outbreak of the war* and inperial ordinance was issued. 


49 


providing that the ministries of War and of the Navy could be held 
by officers on active service only c This ordinance was never repealed,, 
for reasons it is easy to see c Henceforth, since active officers are 
under control of the General Staff, the power to wreck or to prevent 
the formation of any cabinet whose members opposed the armed forces 
in any policy, domestic or foreign,, rested in the services. The 
military faction got a control of the civil government, which was not 
broken until the military faction itself was crushed in 1945 . 

Japan joined the western powers as an equal in the suppression 
of the Boxer Uprising, an anti-foreign movement, in China in 1900 , 
acquitting her share of responsibilities efficiently and quietly. 

Russia, in her traditional search for an ice-free port, had been 
knocking around the Pacific shores since the fifteenth century. Now, 
she was energetically intrenching herself in Korea, the Liaotung Penin¬ 
sula , and in Manchuria, provoking the fears of other powers interested 
in the Par East. England, especially, was uneasy, and of course, 

Japan considered her very existence threatened. The Anglo-Japanese 
Alliance of 1902 was signed, recognizing the interests of Great 
Britain in China and the interests of Japan in Korea. Arrangments 
were made so that in event of war over these spheres of interest, 
England and Japan would come to the aid of each other if a third 
nation became involved. 

The way was paved for a showdown with Russia. The Japanese wished 
for a peaceful recognition of Russian rights and interests in Manchuria, 


50 


and of Japanese rights and interests in Korea® Bat the Russians 9 never 
believing the Japanese would dare to fight, delayed negotiations and 
continued infiltrating into Korea® Finally, the Japanese attacked in 
1904 after studying possibilities and preparing® The Russian fleet 
in the East was mde ineffective in the first twenty-four hours of the 
war —- Pearl Harbor strategy® On land, Port Arthur was surrounded, 
and supporting Russian forces were pushed northward® Port Arthur fell, 
releasing the entire Japanese fleet to trap and annihilate the Russian 
Baltic fleet, which tried to sneak into Vladivostok after it had come 
half way around the world® 

Within two years, both countries were exhausted spiritually and 
financially by the war® President Roosevelt 8 ® mediation was gladly 
accepted, and war was brought to an end® The Japanese press loudly 
protested the failure t© get an indemnity at Portsmouth® But other¬ 
wise, Japan had aeconplished a miraculous feat® She was fully grown 
up now, militarily first rate, politically a constitutional monarchy, 
and economically growing by leaps and bounds® 

In 1910, she annexed Korea without protest from any power® 

Japan had eliminated a military threat to her rise® Now, there 
developed an economic conflict with Great Britain and the United States, 
who wanted to keep the China market at least open® Japan wanted exclu¬ 
sive right to exploit and trade® She resented the interference and 
having to share the vast potential source of material and markets with 
Great Britain and the United States, who kept their own thresholds of 
trade high with tariffs® 


51 


Friction had started with the immigration problem* In 1908* the 
Gentlemen 8 s Agreement was made* ending the flow of Japanese laborers 
into the United States* The Anti-Japanese Land Laws of California in 
1913 did not inprove relations* Finally* in 1924* Congress* taking the 
Japanese ambassador 8 s warning of M grave consequences” as an inpudent 
interference in the internal, affairs of the United States* passed the 
Exclusion Act* definitely patting an end to good Japanese-American 
relations* 

The World War saw Japan pursue her national interests* Without 
obligation to help the Allies* she nevertheless joined them and 
quickly cleaned up the Germans in Shantung 0 Her real purpose in enter¬ 
ing the war soon became evident* At the first opportunity* she 
presented China with the Twenty-one Demands* These* if accepted* 
would have given Japan exclusive rights and control of resources* 
industry* military* and political matters in China* The only power 
able to protest was the United States* This was sufficient to make 
the Japanese tone down the more outrageous demands* but others were 
incorporated in treaties with China* 

At Versaille* the Japanese sat as one of the five powers* Politics 
“ secret treaties made during the war and agreements about the peace — 
played an inportant part there* Japan received the north German Pacific 
islands as a mandate* These island were not to be fortified* but how 
true Japan was to her trust is now evident* Japan also secured the 
former German concessions in Shantung* But Japan deeply resented the 


52 


refusal of her sister powers to write into the League of Nations 
Covenant a racial equality clause 0 

The Russian revolution set the stage for the Siberian expedition 
by the Allies in 1919 # Japan* s intention in urging this expedition 
seemed to be to create disorder rather than to bring order to that 
area so that she could step in and gain rights*. After the other in¬ 
tervening powers withdrew, Japan stayed on under one pretext after 
another. Unable to accomplish very much, she withdrew at the time 
of the Washington Conference in 1922. 

The Washington Conference of 1922 was called to straighten out 
dangerous situations in the Pacific. It succeeded in this for a 
decade. 

Japan was the only industrial power not wholly engaged in the 
World War. She used this opportunity to realize great industrial and 
commercial prosperity. The cotton textile and ship building industry 
made multi-millionaires of their former millionaire owners. 

Just as all the other nations, Japan suffered a post-war depression, 
which produced deep-rooted evils. Party government had been given a 
boost on the wave of democracy sweeping the world with the success of 
the Antes. A commoner, Ear a, became premier. Actually, the proletarit 
and farmer class had shared relatively little in the industrial boom. 

It was the industrial and financial interests which had gained 
economically, socially, and politically. These interests had always 


53 


been closely affiliated with the government since Meiji days* They 
now began to play an important role in party politics* 

Constitutional government never fully developed* The very nature 
of the constitution prevented it* Extra-parliamentary forces -- the 
clan leaders in the early stages, the military since the China Vfer, 
and the financial powers behind the political parties after World 
War I* then the fascistic military in the 1930 8 s — were the deter¬ 
minants of policy 0 The seeming developn^nt of party government from 
191 S until the late twenties was only superficial* The assassination 
of five premiers and other officials and the frequent changes of 
government from 1921 on did not indicate a healthy political situation. 
The expansion of the suffrage in 1925 did not mean very much* for 
since then, rigid laws to check dangerous thoughts were enacted. 

Meanwhile, industrial Japan was having a hard time with tariff 
walls throughout the world growing higher and higher* China becane 
more and more the logical chief market for Japanese goods. But China 
was undergoing the throes of revolution and trying at the same time 
to prevent the granting of any more concessions and to end foreign 
influence. Various reasons caused her to center her anti-foreignism 
on Japan. 

Industrial development in Japan demanded foreign markets. The 
military, abetted by political malcontents, gained in power as parlia¬ 
mentary government failed to solve problems. Industrialists joined 


54 


with proponents of drastic action c -kocternally, the military was getting 
alarmed at the progress of the Kuomintang in uniting China© In North 
China and in Manchuria, the new Chinese government violated treaties 
and actively undermined Japanese interests© 

In 1931 occured the Manchurian incident© It was one of those his¬ 
torical incidents that act as fuses to set off kegs of powder© The Jap¬ 
anese easily brought Manchuria under their control© The following year, 
a puppet government in Manchuria declared its independence. The League 
of Nations, on the basis of the Lytton report, placed the blame for the 
incident on Japan and made recommendations© Japan withdrew from the 
League and found herself isolated concerning the fundamental principles 
to be followed for the establishment of durable peace in the Far East. 

The years following 1932 only saw a worsening of relations between 
Japan and the United States© But isolationists never dreamed of the 
possibility of war© 

Infiltration into North China, Jehol, and Mongolia was followed by 
the precipitation of the China Incident in July 1937«* The Japanese 
militarists figured they must strike before China became too strong© 
Chiang Kai Shek lost all the important cities of China, Peking, Nanking, 
Shanghai, Canton, and Hankow, and won only one major battle in five 
years of war. But the enticement of the Japanese further and further 
inland, involving them more and more, weakening them with the M scorched 
earth” policy and guerilla warfare, must have taken a terrible toll of 
the Japanese© 


55 


World. War II had started in 1939 with blitz after blitz by the 

f 

rampant German armies 0 In June of 1940* the British withdrew from 
Dunkirk* and France fell in the same month c Hitler was now supreme 
in Europe and subjected London to the terrors of the blitz* and in the 
sea lanes * his wolf packs destroyed vital cargo ships faster than they 
could he replaced® 

« 

In September* 19*40 Japan formed the Tripartite Alliance with 
Germany and Italy* thereby irretrievably casting her lot with the 
forces of Fascism* Matsuoka next guaranteed his back door from attack 
with a Non-aggression Pact with Stalin in April* 1941® 

At this point* Hitler took his greatest gamble; he chose to attack 
Russia while England was still too weak to create a second front® If 
Russia could be quickly defeated* then England and the United States 
would never be able to take the offensive against Germany® By December 
of 1941* in the mightiest and bloodiest ware fare of history* Moscow was 
being attacked® 

Japan tried every diplomatic means not to inflame American opinion 
while she took advantage of the European crisis to expand her so-called 
M Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere'® from China to French Xndo- 
China and Thailand® But American attitude was inflexible* and the 
situation passed beyond diplomatic control® Even while Nomura and 
Kurusu were making last-minute efforts to arrive at an understanding* 
Pearl Harbor was being attacked® 


56 


Singapore, Sumatra, the Philippines, Java, Borneo, and New Guinea 
were taken successively,* At sea, the Prince of Wales and Repulse were 
sunk by torpedo-carrying airplanes,* The Japanese conquests reached 
from Kiska in the Aleutians to the sea lanes linking Australia to the 
United States to the borders of India© 

But even before Japan 9 s high-water mark had been reached, the 
counterattack had begun© Japan°s limited sea power was checked in 
the battles of the Coral Sea and Midway in 19^2© Island hopping 
started from New Guinea and the Solomons© 19^3 saw the situation 
stalemated in general© Then the Central Pacific campaign swept up 
Tarawa, Kwajelain, and Eniwetok© Saipan, Tinian, and Guam were next. 

In desperation, the Japanese engaged the United States Fleet, and in 
the two battles of the Philippines Seas lost practically everything. 

The liberation of the Philippines followed quickly© Iwo Jima and 
Okinawa were taken at high cost of casualties and naval losses© 

By this time, the B-29 bombing of Japan had been going on for a year 
and reached the devastating stage of eight-hundred ship raids a day© 

On August 6, 19 ^ 5 , the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima© 
Two days later, Russia declared war on Japan© And two days after that, 
Japan began negotiations for surrender on September 2. 


57 


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